Fires, Gliding and Margaret River again...

Sorry for not posting for awhile, I've been rather busy and not been able to get to a computer.

You may have seen on the news that Victoria is suffering from some terrible bush fires, the death toll is over 100 and looks set to rise. I cannot think of anything more terrifying than realising that you are trapped in you town and seeing the walls of flames coming towards you. Last week there was a small bush fire in Kings Park in Perth, the speed at which the flames move and the heat is awe inspiring. I hope that the regions winds calm down soon and that the weather cools so that teh area can get a break. ( If anyone wants to give a donation to the victims of the bush fires they can at http://www.redcross.org.au/vic/services_emergencyservices_victorian-bushfires-appeal-2009.htm ).

In other news I've been again to Fremantle to walk round the markets and watch the street entertainment and spend Sunday gliding... (Again if you don't care about gliding skip this paragraph!). I arrived at teh club and finished my last check flight - this involved a simulated rope break at about 600ft... nothing too scary. I was then finally allowed to fly solo - although only in the Puchacz until I'd demonstrated a correct circuit and landing. The weather was not good enough for cross country flying but i still managed to get 1 hour in the puch and then 2 hours in the Astir ( Iwas finally trusted). I've never experienced such a rough aerotow - during the day they broke a weak link (not my tow). One second I was happily in low tow the next I was above the tug and to the left... I think I coped quite well and noone complained afterwards. The thermals were amazingly strong, but very small and really rough. The lift topped out at about 5000ft above ground. I wasn't prepared for the amount of sink in between the thermals though - having climbed up at 6kts average I was then back down to 2000ft at 8kts average!! Oh well despite the roughness (even the locals said it was rough as ***) it was an enjoyable day and I plan to spend next weekend at the club too.

I am now in Margaret River (again) staying at the youth hostel. I arrived after gliding and stupidly spent the evening outside at a BBQ. I have been bitten by lots of different mosquitos. unfortunaly it appears I'm really allergic to the mossies down here and have swelled up ( As a point of reference for Phil the swelling is worse than Irkutsk!). The hostel owner was really worried as she though I'd contracted the river virus, I was marched to the doctors who said that its just a bad reaction and has given me enough antihistimines to knock out a horse... The swelling has now gone down and I just look like I've got a bad case of the pox. Tomorrow I'm doing a canoe tour up the river and having a bushtucker lunch (kangaroo, wine and other local food on the menu) should be fun. The other guests at teh hostel are really friendly so apart from the bites all is well.